With the governor's signature, a new bill will force some manufacturers to change their labels

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 10:25 PM CDT May 23, 2018

Hide TranscriptShow Transcript

WEBVTT CHILDREN TO SCHOOL AND WAS IN HIS FRONT YARD WHEN HE AS SHOT AND KILLED LAST OCTOBER. PICKERT WON A MULTI MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT AGAINST JUNGERMAN. HIS WIDOW IS NOW SUING FOR DAMAGES. A NEW BILL JUST PASSED IN MISSOURI CHANGES WHAT CAN BE ADVERTISED AND SOLD AS MEAT. LARA: IT’S THE FIRST IN THE NATION TO DO SO. NEW AT 10: KMBC 9’S WILLIAM JOY EXPLAINS HOW IT COULD IMPACT YOUR TRIP TO THE GROCERY STORE. REPORTER: YOU’LL STILL BE ABLE TO BUY ITEMS LABELED AS VEGG BURGER OR SAUSAGE BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS LIKE VEGAN CHICKEN OR BEEF WILL HAVE TO GO. BRUCE MERSHON’S FAMILY HAS BEEN FARMING FOR MORE THAN CENTURY. >> GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER SETTLED HERE IN THE 1860'S WITH 1500 CATTLE, HE TAKES PRIDE IN HIS PRODUCT. >> THEY GET THE FULL PACKAGE. REPORTER: THAT’S WHY HE’S BEHIND A NEW BILL THAT JUST NEEDS TO GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE TO CREATE NEW RESTRICTION ON WHAT CAN BE CALLED MEAT IN THE STATE. >> WHY DO WE MAKE THEM TRY TO FIGURE IT OU WHY DO WE PLACE A GUESSING GAME WITH THEM WHEN THEY’RE AT THE GROCERY STORE. WHY NOT LABEL IT FOR WHAT IT IS. >> NO ONE IS BUY PLANT-BASED BURGER PATTIES BY MISTAKE. TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE IS BOTH LAUGHABLE AND AN INSULT TO THE PEOPLE OF MISSOURI. MICHEAL: THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE SAYS PLANT-BASED MEAT IS ONLY ABOUT 1% OF THE MARKET. REPORTER: LAB PRODUCTS AREN’T EVEN AVAILABLE, BUT CHANGING THE LABELS WOULD BE A BURDEN TO MANUFACTURERS. >> PUTTING MORE BARRIERS AND MORE REGULATION IS PLACE I REALLY ABOUT CENSORING THE COMPETITION. >> THEY CAN NAME IT ANYTHING THEY WANT. JUST DON’T NAME IT A KANSAS CITY STRIP OR A PORK CHOP. REPORTER: IT’S A BILL THAT COULD END UP FORCING A COURT TO DECIDE WHAT COUNTS AS MEAT AND FR SPEECH. REPORTER: LAB GROWN PRODUCTS ARE STILL TOO EXPENSIVE TO BE IN STORES, BUT POULTRY COULD MAKE ITS WAY TO A FEW RESTAURANTS BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. THE MORE LIKELY TIMEFRAME FOR LAB-GROWN PRODUCTS TO MAKE IT TO STORES IS PROBABLY FIVE YEARS. LARA: THERE ARE TWO MISSOURI COMPANIES FOCUSED ON PLANT-BASED MEATS. THIS IS ALSO A TOPIC ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL. THE USDA RECEIVED THOUSANDS OF COMMENTS AFTER IT TOOK UP A PETITION FROM THE U.S. CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION TO CREATE A POLICY FOR WHAT CAN BE DEEMED

Advertisement

Missouri redefining what can be sold as 'meat'

With the governor's signature, a new bill will force some manufacturers to change their labels

Last week, lawmakers passed a bill that targets both plant-based and lab-grown products.

Advertisement

It's the first in the nation to do so, but a federal change could be coming, too.

Bruce Mershon's family has been farming for more than century. He and his family have around 1,500 cattle now.

He’s also a board member for the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association which is behind a new bill that just needs to governor's signature to create new restrictions on what can be called meat in the state.

"Why do we make them try to figure it out,” Mershon said of grocery store labels. “Why do we place a guessing game with them when they're at the grocery store? Why not label it for what it is?”

The bill bans, “misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry”.

Mershon says that means ‘veggie burger’ labels are fine but using words like chicken or beef will have to stop.

"No one is buying plant-based burger patties by mistake,” Jessica Almy, a policy director for the Good Food Institute said. “To suggest otherwise is both laughable and an insult to the people of Missouri."

She says plant-based meat is only about 1 percent of the market. Lab products aren't even available, Almy said, but changing the labels would be a burden to manufacturers.

"Putting more barriers and more regulation in place is really about censoring the competition,” she said.

Lab grown products are still too expensive to be in stores, but poultry could make its way to a few restaurants by the end of this year. The more likely timeframe for lab-grown products to make it to stores is probably five years.

The bill that could end up forcing a court to decide what counts as meat, and free speech.

"They can name it anything they want,” Mershon said. “Just don't name it a Kansas City strip or a pork chop."

St. Louis-based Hungry Planet and Columbia-based Beyond Meat are two Missouri companies focused on plant-based foods.

While Missouri is the first in the nation to create these regulations, it’s a topic at the national level. The USDA received thousands of comments after it took up a petition from the US Cattlemen’s Association to create a policy for what can be deemed meat.